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大卫上学去

David Goes To School

This is a very popular American picture book by popular author and illustrator, David Shannon. The story is about a naughty little boy named David and how he always seems to get into trouble. David’s poor teacher has her hands full… from running in the halls to chewing gum in class, David’s high-energy antics are sure to bring a smile to even the best-behaved reader. This is a great book for beginning language learners because the entire story can be understood from just the pictures. It is also a wonderful story for teachers to read on the first day of school so you can set the expectations for the class… making sure that all the Davids in your class know what “not” to do. Click here to read the annotated Chinese version.

小猫钓鱼

Little Fish Goes Fishing

Hi everyone! It’s been awhile since my last post. I have been busy working on my other passion, sewing page.

Today I would like to share one of my favorite Chinese children’s stories called 小猫钓鱼, and a play that I wrote based on the story. My amazing students learned and performed the play in 5 days. We worked very hard to memorize all the lines and we also made our own props such as bean bag fish for the little pond. You can read the entire story with pinyin here. 小猫钓鱼 also teaches a great moral story, and it is great practice for Chinese learners. Enjoy!

Book 2 is here!

Last week I uploaded book 1 with 100 lessons to learn Chinese characters. I have just uploaded book 2 of the 3 book series. With a few basic strokes you can write hundreds and thousands of Chinese characters. Recognizing the commonalities of certain characters can help you learn. Book 2 also contains fully illustrated pictures and pinyin with colored strokes of the characters. Click here to download book 2.

Using a few basic strokes you can write hundreds and thousands of Chinese characters. Most characters share commonalities as you can see in this book. A different stroke here and there can create a new character! This is book 1 of a 3 book series and it contains fully illustrated pictures and pinyin with colored strokes of the characters. Click here to download book 1.

Videos and PDF for books 9 and 10 of the level 1 Chinese leveled readers are here! There are a total of 108 little readers that increase in difficulty. I have made videos for books 9 and 10 in Mandarin audio with Chinese and English text. Practice reading along or reading by yourself simply turn off the sound in the video. Watch and download these 2 new little readers here.

Illustrated Dual Language Book

Download a 156 pages dual language book that either teaches single words or phrases. Each page also has illustrated pictures to accompany the English and Chinese. Below are sample pages from the book. Download the entire book here. Please take a look at the new password on the resource page as it will change on January 15.

5 Interactive Math PowerPoint lessons all in Chinese. You can use these for learning Math terms in Chinese, teaching Math using Chinese, or even just for reviewing some Chinese Math terms. Click here to download the 5 Math interactive PowerPoint lessons in Chinese.

折纸大全

Paper Folding

Most people are familiar with the term origami or paper-folding. The name origami is a Japanese term from the words oru (to fold) and kami (paper). In China, the art of folding paper is called, 折纸 zhé zhǐ. Did you know the art of paper-folding originated in China? Paper was first invented by Cai Lun, an Imperial court official during the Han Dynasty, who created sheets of paper from mulberry, bast fibers, old rags, fish nets, and hemp waste. In the 6th century, monks carried paper to Japan. Chinese paper-folding tends to focus more on inanimate objects, such as boats or small dishes. Japanese paper-folding tends to favor more living things, such as flowers and animals. Click here to download 29 paper-folding shapes with step by step pictures to make shapes like the ones below.

My Sewing Projects

小小缝纫作品

Sewing has been around since the prehistoric era. People used to wrap leather or fur around themselves. Later around 45,000 BC, people in central Asia began poking holes and pulling cords through the clothes instead of just wrapping. In China, archaeologists have found a complete set of sewing needles and thimbles in a tomb from the Han Dynasty (202 BC -220 AD). In fact, this is the oldest known thimble in the records of history. Throughout Chinese history, needlework has been included in many folk arts. Today, it is not common to have handmade clothing as it can be very expensive and hard to find. In China, the price of custom-made clothing has greatly increased. My recent 旗袍 “qí páo”, a traditional Chinese dress, custom-made from Shanghai is much more expensive than my last one from several years ago. However, I feel that the appreciation for handmade items have also grown in recent years. I love to sew, and would like to share pictures of some of the outfits and accessories that I have created for my baby here. I always try to pick fabrics with unique patterns and colors. I have many new clothing projects planned like Star Wars, Dr. Seuss Holiday, and Pac-man so check back again. Thanks!

The Owl and The Pussycat

This beautifully illustrated book is based on the popular childhood poem by English poet, Edward Lear. Edward Lear’s poem narrating the love story of The Owl and the Pussycat was written in 1871. In this book, popular children’s author and illustrator, Jan Brett, brings her exquisitely detailed illustrations of Edward Lear’s charming poem to life set in the background of the Caribbean. Owl sets out to woo Pussycat in a boat laden with fruit from their Caribbean island and with a guitar at his side, ready for serenading. As they sail off across the sea, another story unfolds in the water beneath the boat. One by one, exotic sea creatures swim into the picture and a small yellow fish seems to be looking for someone.
Read it in both English and simplified Chinese here.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

Edward Lear, 1812 – 1888

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
“O lovely Pussy, O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!”
Pussy said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing!
Oh! let us be married; too long we have tarried,
But what shall we do for a ring?”
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the bong-tree grows;
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood,
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose,
His nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.”
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon,
The moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.